Thin Film Shape Sensing and Visualization

"The program will demonstrate low cost sensors that can accurately provide accurate deformation shape sensing and mapping of wing structures. Large sensors arrays can be fabricated on a single thin film. Such thin films are easily integrated with bothmetal and composite wings structures and have already been successfully demonstrated in composite embedment. These have further advantages that we can build data processing directly into the same thin film as to provide usable data upstream. The upstreamdata will be fed back into both feedback control and a visualization tool that enables user direct `real time' comparison of both open-loop and closed-loop control response of aerodynamic or aeroelastic phenomenon. Thin film sensors would be easy to bothattach and remove during wind tunnel and laboratory testing phases The ability to sense shape change, process the acquired data and transmit upstream all on a single (very flexible) piece of film no thicker than a post-it combined with a visualization toolthat can take the measured data and represent the system condition graphically real-time will have enormous commercial applications. Our focus will be on medical and sports products, where this inexpensive system can provide real time information onpatients or equipment. To realize these applications we have commercially teamed with Rockwell who already has a large commercial interest in thin film devices."